


Message from the Stars

by TheSecretUchiha



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Bittersweet?, But hopefully will help people deal with their emotions..., Endgame, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I cried constantly while writing this, Kinda happy ending?, Not A Fix-It, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Post-Endgame, Really don't read if you haven't seen the movie!, Spoilers, Tags and Summary will be updated after an appropriate amount of time has passed..., Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, dad tony
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-04-26
Packaged: 2020-02-04 17:37:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18609304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSecretUchiha/pseuds/TheSecretUchiha
Summary: POST-ENDGAME. FULL OF SPOILERS. Only read after watching the movie.Life continues on but some wounds take longer to heal than others. However Tony is going to be there for Peter, no matter what.





	Message from the Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that was a movie. It was not what I expected at all, but I loved it! I can't believe they actually used time travel, I thought it'd be way too tropey!  
> Feel free to share your thoughts of the movie in the comments.  
> If you read Breathe then I have no idea how I'm going to make the ending of that fic live up to what happened in the movie and I'm now kicking myself for not pushing through to finish earlier...  
> This fic is purely to help me deal with my emotions from endgame, I hope it can help others too. Crying is cathartic.

Peter... struggled.

He shouldn’t, not so much. He was part of the 50% of the world who hadn’t lived through five years of devastation and loss and hopelessness. He’d fallen apart and then he’d been pulled back together again in what felt like an instant.

The world had changed but he was young - the world had always been changing as he grew and he was flexible and fluid in more than just his role as Spider-Man.

But it wasn’t just the world that had changed. _His_ world had changed too. There was a hole. A gaping chasm so great that he couldn’t even see the edges of it - one that seemed to fill his entire life.

School started again and Ned was there. Outside of school May was with him whenever he needed... and yet...

 

  
His breath caught in his throat, stuck behind a lump that suddenly became lodged in his airways, when he walked out of school on that first day back and saw the familiar car waiting for him. He almost imagined Happy opening the door to reveal Tony, busy on his Starkphone and pretending that he wasn’t listening whenever Peter talked about his day. Or continuing to ‘just get the door for him’ whenever they travelled together to the compound.

There was no Tony. Only an empty space.

Peter got in. He didn’t even ask Happy where they were going or for what reason, he just dropped his bag on the seat beside him, buckled in and leant back with his eyes closed.

It wasn’t meant to be. For once, Happy seemed to feel the need for small talk and Peter was raised by too many good people to ignore his attempts. But no matter how he tried, each conversation fell flat. It was a relief when they pulled into an underground garage rather than heading out of the city towards the compound upstate.

“Head on up in the elevator, kiddo.” Peter flinched, remembering how Tony would always call him that and Happy gave him a soft, sorrowful smile that Peter hated before continuing even more gently, “Pep’s waiting for you upstairs.”

Peter nodded and stepped in, offering a single, stilted wave of farewell when Happy remained by the car.

“Peter!” a delighted, young voice shouted before the doors were even fully open and he crouched, arms wide in preparation for the bundle of energy called Morgan that dove at him at full speed. He hoisted her up, pretending to struggle with her weight while exclaiming how big she was. He could be happy, for her.

Pepper was in the living area when he walked in, a suit jacket draped over the back of the sofa and her heels kicked off. She stood quickly as he entered, pulling him into a hug with Morgan squished between them. When the hug started to last more than a few seconds, she quickly squirmed her way out, dropping to the floor and scampering to her room to find something she wanted to show him.

Pepper’s hand on his head kept Peter’s face tucked into her neck much longer than conventional, but Peter relaxed completely into the embrace, breathing in the smell of her skin and letting his fingers grasp into her white blouse, leaving creases and folds in the previously flawless material.

“How are you doing, Peter?” Pepper asked eventually, finally pulling back to run her eyes over his face. She looked concerned and pressed a hand to his brow, then rested it gently on his cheek.

“Getting there,” he whispered back, hoarsely. He didn’t tell her about the hole; just looking at her he could tell she had one too - a gaping chasm in her chest that wouldn’t close. “How are you? And Morgan?” he asked in return.

Pepper smiled, the expression still as fragile as it had been last time he’d asked, “Surviving. We have had good nights and bad nights.”

“I’ll keep her occupied tonight, try to wear her out for you so she’ll sleep through the night,” he offered quickly. He’d done the same a few times before the funeral, but hadn’t seen them since - he’d wanted to give them some time but if he could help out, he’d do what he could.

“Actually, I asked Happy to get you for something else, though I’m sure Morgan would be delighted if you stayed tonight…”

“I’ll give May a call,” Peter agreed immediately, reaching for his phone but Pepper held up a hand to halt him.

“Later,” she promised. “First, something much more important…” She took him by the arm, leading him out of the living area and into the more personal area of the penthouse. Peter had a room here, but he hadn’t slept in it yet, that night would be the first time.

Instead of any of the bedrooms, Pepper took him to her office, gesturing him to the smaller couch with a glass coffee table in front of it. The table was empty barring one thing, a small, circular device that Peter had seen only once before.

“There’s more messages, a few more addressed to individual people rather than everyone” Pepper explained before Peter could even ask if it was the same device they’d used to show Tony’s last message. “I know it’s been two weeks now but… it took time. I haven’t watched this one, it’s got your name on it. I’ll be outside if you need me, ok Peter?”

Peter nodded, wanting to be polite and offer his thanks, but he couldn’t draw his gaze away from the small recording device, containing a message Tony had made just for him. Pepper’s bare feet plodded away and the door was gently closed behind her.

Peter waited until he heard her reach the living room again, then took a deep breath and reached out to turn on the hologram.

“Hey Pete, how’s it going?” Tony asked as he appeared, leaning back from starting the recording to sit in a wooden chair. “Hope school’s going well, you finished puberty yet?” he snickered, as always, at his own jokes and Peter tried desperately to memorise the way his eyes crinkled at the edges as he laughed.

“I’ll keep this short,” hologram Tony continued. “If you’re watching this recording, I’m overwhelmingly relieved to say we must have kicked some serious titan ass. But there’s something I want you to know… Something very important… Everything that happened to get there, to win, it’s because of you.” Peter’s breath caught and Tony, as if knowing exactly how Peter would react while watching his recording, paused and waited just long enough for Peter to start breathing again with a wan smile on his face. “When you… when I _lost_ you, on Titan… I can’t explain how it felt. Then I got back to Earth and we lost all hope. For five years. Things changed, I coped. Pepper was with me, the most amazing woman and much more than I ever deserved. And then we had Morgan and I still can’t believe how blessed I was… but there was always something missing Pete. A hole. A gaping chasm in my chest that just wouldn’t close. Doing what we did to stop Thanos was the most reckless, dangerous, insane mission we’ve ever gone on and I did all of that because I just couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t at least try. If I didn’t even try to save my s- to save you Peter. And I’m just going to say it, I hope you’ll forgive me if it’s too much, but I couldn’t live without my first kid, my son.”

Peter’s eyes started to burn. Tiny rivulets of hot water streamed down his face, but even so not a single sound left his throat as he drank in Tony’s pleased embarrassment. He didn’t look the slightest bit uncertain or regretful of the words and Peter wanted to immortalize his expression and carry it with him for the rest of his life.

“I’ve just got a few requests, not so small really, but I know you won’t let me down. First, and most importantly, look out for Morgan. Teach her… teach her the things I taught you, and then all the things you’ll discover that I never knew. Watch out for boys, or girls; make sure she doesn’t date anyone that doesn’t fall in that little grey area we talked about.” The sudden throw-back reference finally forced a wet chuckle from Peter but Tony continued before anything more could make it past his lips.

“My labs are yours to use as you please, just don’t spend your life in them like I did, spend time with your friends, aunt hottie and Pep too. Science is great, but it’ll wait. There’s… there’s so much more than that in the world for you and I wish I’d realised that earlier…” For the first time, Tony looked a bit sad, but he shook it off quickly.

“And most importantly, do what you want with your life. Be happy. If you make mistakes, don’t worry about it - even good men make mistakes, or so Pep’s always telling me. Do what you want to do and, if you want it, at any point in your life, half of Stark Industries is yours. I know between you and your little sister, you’ll change the world and do so, _so_ much good.”

He smiled straight at Peter, eyes slightly watery but brighter than ever.

“I’m so proud of you Pete, and I love you so so much, always remember that.”

The video cut off, but the image of Tony’s last smile stayed with him, until Pepper came to find him, through the time spent playing with lego with Morgan, the night spent in the tower, and each day that followed.

There was still a hole. A gaping chasm in his chest, but it was closing, slowly but surely, filled with each new, happy moment that Tony had given him, and one day, much further into the future, Peter planned to tell Tony about every last one of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Come cry with me in the comments.  
> And let me know your favourite parts of the movie!  
> (I'm seeing it again tomorrow morning, aka in... 6 hours whoops haha)


End file.
